The 2019-20 football season has been unlike any other, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Premier League shut down, due to public health and safety concerns, from mid-March until mid-June. That shifted the schedule to a point where now some clubs, including Manchester United, are playing matches more than a calendar year after the current season progressed.
United take on Sevilla tomorrow in the Europa League semifinals, and if they win the one-off clash, they’ll play again in the final next weekend. Then the 2020/21 season starts up again on Sept 12, meaning there isn’t much down time at all.
“There is no point about me worrying about it,” United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said of next season’s schedule (the fixtures are yet to be announced) at a presser where he was joined by midfield maestro Bruno Fernandes.
“The authorities will give us as much rest as possible. We can give them a two week holiday, and it gives us two weeks to prepare for the first game. I can’t see any reason to complain.”
United midfielder Juan Mata, like Solskjaer himself, has publicly pointed out that the team is getting tired from the workload. Sunday’s clash will mark the third time that United have played in the semifinals of a cup competition this season.
Solskjaer maintains that both he and his side are not thinking about next season at the moment.
“Absolutely no concerns about next season at the moment,” the Norwegian said at his press conference, which ended minutes ago
“We have good possibility to finish the season, this is the only way we could have done it. We have to use it as preparation for this tournament but also almost a pre-season for next season. We can’t complain because this is the world we are in now.”
Manchester United vs Sevilla UEL Semifinal FYIs
Kickoff: Sunday Aug 16, 8pm, RheinEnergie Stadion, Cologne, Germany
MUFC Team News: go to this link
MUFC Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
TV, Stream: BT Sport, BT Sport Extra
Odds: United 29/20, Sevilla 15/8, Draw 9/4
Odds to win UEL tournament: United +190 Sevilla +280
Prediction: United 1, Sevilla 0
Lopetegui’s side are on a 19-game unbeaten run in all competitions, which is a club record, but all streaks have to end some time.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
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